Cape Town - The Western Cape Health Department said that over the last few days, the province breached the 50% mark of adults who have been vaccinated with at least one dose.
The department said that although only halfway, where the 51.36% or 2 556 131 of adults in the province have ensured they are protected against severe illness, it would still like to improve the vaccination coverage – particularly of the older and more vulnerable population.
It added that despite the progress, these vaccination targets are still not near the 70%+ targets that it set for themselves for the end of the year.
National vaccination performance as of 6 December (excluding 12-17-year-olds):
Western Cape performance
The department added that the number of people taking up vaccinations has also started to slowly increase as access to vaccines has been made so much easier through innovative initiatives such as pop-sites, outreaches and the latest addition – the Vaxi Taxi.
To date:
- 511 524 people 60 years and older have been vaccinated – 70.73% of the total population in this age group
- 421 613 (61.63%) in the 50-59 group
- 807 675 (53.42%) aged 35-49 and
- 815 045 (39.61%) in the 18-34 age group
- In addition, 78 716 of those aged 12 – 17 have also taken up their vaccination.
“With the new Omicron variant rapidly spreading, vaccination is more important than ever before to protect against severe illness and death.
“We, once again, appeal to those who have not yet been vaccinated to take up any of the many opportunities we are providing within their communities. Get vaccinated and be protected, especially as we are entering the fourth wave,” the department said.
“We will continue our efforts to increase uptake of vaccination in all groups.”
As of 1pm on 6 December 2021, the Western Cape has 5 946 active Covid-19 infections, with a total number of 530 816 Covid-19 cases to date and 504 621 recoveries.
Last week, Dr Keith Cloete, head of the provincial health department, said that the Western Cape is in a Covid-19 infection resurgence in the context of the new Omicron variant, but the province is estimated to be a few weeks away from a fourth wave.
More information on the province’s Covid-19 status can be found at: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/covid-19-dashboard
The department encourage Western Cape residents to get vaccinated so that residents and their loved ones can be fully protected and have a safe holiday period together.
“Help us prevent severe illness and death ahead of the fourth wave.”